in a world of greedy companies pawning off cheap trash as a method to
extract your hard earned money while giving the very least possible in
return......... i HAVE been very happy with my sangean ats606 radio. its
small, good on batteries and will take a beating. it also runs circles
around all my other radios when using the whip. its not cheap but its
within your price range. for a little more money you can get a little
more radio with the sony 7600gr. its a little more serious radio with
single side band and synch lock. if your husband doesnt know what those
things are, then he isnt ready for them yet and probably would be better
served with the simpler radio. there are a butt-load of cheap junk
radios out there so do your research before you decide. its not that a
cheap radio cant be fun, but you dont want to pay too much for it.